Third World in the First: Development and Indigenous Peoples

One of the major cultural and economic issues facing both Australia and Canada concerns the governments’ past and present failures to involve the “first peoples” in development. Elspeth Young contrast the materialist development approach of both big companies and governments with the stress of the Indian, Inuit and Aboriginal peoples place on husbanding natural resources. Exploring why attempts to promote minority development have failed, whether models of sustainable development are applicable to remote area development, as well as the crucial issue of self-determination, the book reveals the yawning gap between what people want and what governments are prepared to offer. The author argues that this gap can only be briged by alternative approaches to development, centered on participation and the acknowledgement of these peoples’ holistic sense of community.